Help Him out of the Trash
by guillotineghost
Summary: Yosuke's romantic social link route with an unnamed, silent female protagonist.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I finally finished this! The opening chapter always feels so conflicting for me? Much thanks to cassiuss for beta reading this for me! To read all of the protag's interactions with Saki, that's featured in Protect Adachi. **

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Her first impression of the boy rolling around in the trash can was that he had to be exceptionally unfortunate to lose his steering on a bicycle, but moreso for not a soul to come to his aid.  
>It wasn't unusual for the passing people on the city streets to be indifferent to the small sufferings of a high school student, but weren't small town folks supposed to be nice? Especially his peers, of all people? The other students gave him nothing more than a sideways glance.<br>She shook her head and walked away the embarrassing scene.  
>Though she hadn't made any friends here quiet yet, with this being her first week, she didn't want to come across as being kind enough for the other students to take advantage of.<br>Finding the balance between trustworthy, kind, dependable, and stern was a challenge for any girl, but she'd managed to find a decent standing for herself at her old school.  
>She'd just repeat the process here. Simple enough.<p>

A group of other girls passing by didn't even try to hide their hysterical laughter, one of them going as far as to hold their sides and nearly drop their bag.

"Yosuke is so stupid!"  
>"Yeah, what an idiot!"<br>"Right where he belongs since his family got here, if you ask me."

The protagonist had to stop in her tracks now because she _really_ felt sorry for this guy.  
>Yosuke, was it?<br>She couldn't just keep walking with a clear conscious now…could she?

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>PLAYER CHOICE<p>

[Help him out of the Trash Can]  
>Keep walking<br>x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x

She took a step backwards, then turned around and approached the waste bin, kneeling down and placing both hands over the cold steel. She lifted it off of him with a single swift motion, careful to hold the top half upwards so that the remaining mass of wrappers, half eaten food, and opened drinks didn't spill upon him further.

The boy looked up at her with a lax jaw and widened eyes.

The protagonist stared back at him for a brief second before he spoke; were those girls really making fun of him? But he wasn't bad looking in the least. She noticed the headphones around his neck and briefly wondered to herself if he was from the city, as well.  
>It wasn't unusual for anyone raised in a more populated area to carry around headphones as a means of passing the time on long subway rides or tedious commutes from street to street, and those cruel girls had hinted that he wasn't a native to Inaba...<p>

"Wow, thanks! I didn't expect anyone to actually help me there, yet alone a cute girl like yourself." He stood up, adding a certain suave to his voice despite the shoulder of his uniform being corroded with soda and a wad of gum. "Or maybe you're a goddess that's smiled down on me?"

Was he really flirting with her right now?  
>He laughed a little to himself, crossing his arms and dropping the coy tone.<p>

"I don't think I've seen you around here before, though? You must be new here. Anyway, I'm Yosuke Hanamura from class 2-2. Thanks again for helping me out; I really appreciate it!" He glanced down at his shirt and cringed. "I'm…going to go home and change now before I'm late. See you around!"

With that, he hurriedly grabbed his wrecked bicycle from the sidewalk and took his leave.

She shook her head with a sigh and continued onwards to class.

Yosuke was more unlucky than she'd originally anticipated, receiving physical punishment from a girl in their class for accidentally breaking her DVD.  
>No one batted an eyelash, either.<br>The protagonist was somewhat relieved to see that she shared a classroom with a familiar face, even if she'd only met him briefly, but was beginning to regret her placement if it meant having to watch this poor boy being tortured on a daily basis.

Being stuck in a class with a teacher that acted as some sort of guard to her virginity didn't help. "King Moron", as he was called, made a spectacle of introducing her to the class.

"None of you perverted boys—I'm looking at you, Hanamura—better make a move on this innocent child! That's the problem with you kids these days, thinking you can just do anything you want because you 'feel' that it's right! New girl, don't let any of these primates fool you or lead you into false promises…go sit by Satanoka! She'll keep you safe!"

Satonaka—Chie— the same girl who had been so merciless towards Yosuke, held a much different tune with her, however. She was enthusiastic to show the new kid around and when Yosuke mentioned having bumped into her this morning, he was roped into treating both of them to dinner later.  
>Chie wasn't pleased with the fact that they wound up at the Junes food court.<p>

"I didn't mean for you to take us to your place! I was really looking forward to steak…"

"This isn't _my_ place or anything, dude." He set a tray of three drinks and some food on the table.

Despite how disappointed Chie was at not getting the steak she'd been allegedly promised, she reach forward to take a fountain soda from the tray and took a sip.

Yosuke turned to the protagonist and smiled. "It's all on me, though. To welcome you here!"

Over the course of their time together there, she learned exactly why so many of the students held discontent towards Yosuke.  
>He had in fact moved from the city about half a year ago. His dad was a manager assigned to this branch of Junes, and so his entire family had moved here.<p>

"Since Junes opened up here, I rarely visit the local district myself," Chie admitted with a shrug. "It's just easier to find what I want here, and a lot cheaper. So most of the local small stores have begun closing, and…uh…"

"You can't entirely blame their closing on Junes, though…" Yosuke tried to argue, only for the conversation to sift into uncomfortable, awkward silence that stagnated until he caught sight of a light haired girl sitting at a table across the court. "Oh, it's Saki-senpai!" He stood from his seat without hesitation and started over to speak to her. "I'll be right back!"

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>PLAYER CHOICE<p>

[He has a girlfriend?]  
>Who is that?<br>x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x

Chie snickered and restrained her laughter. "No! Like Yosuke could ever get a girlfriend! That's Saki Konishi, a grade ahead of us. Her family runs the liquor store in town, but I think she's working here part time now?"

She quietened down and turned her attention to the other's conversation.  
>The protagonist hadn't taken Chie to be the nosy type, but who could resist listening in to the business of someone else? Her own curiosity peaked.<p>

"What's up, Hana-chan? Bringing your friends here to boost the family business?"  
>"You wound me, Madam! …But kidding aside, you look down. Did something happen?"<br>"It's nothing." Saki said, a little too quickly. "I'm just tired, is all."  
>"Well, if you ever need to talk, I'm always willing to listen. I…"<br>She waved her hand dismissively. "I know, thanks, though." She sighed. "Why'd I leave school early yesterday…"

Saki turned her attention to Chie and the protagonist. "She must be the new girl that just transferred from the big city, huh? She must be relatable for you to talk to, Hana-chan." She stood and approached the other table, an almost hopeful expression overtaking her tired face at the idea of Yosuke having someone else to pester.

"Hey, you're the new girl, right?" She asked the protagonist. "Must be hard moving in from the city to this place. I don't see Hana-chan talking to many people. He doesn't really have a lot of friends."

"That's not necessarily, true…" Yosuke tried to defend himself, crossing his arms. "I have plenty of friends. I'm likeable."

Saki ignored him and continued speaking to the protagonist. "Hana-chan is a good guy, he just gets really nosy and loud sometimes. When he starts to annoy you, don't hesitate to tell him to his face. Sometimes you have to be brutally honest with these things, you know?"

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>PLAYER CHOICE<p>

I'll make sure to tell him.  
>He is really annoying…<br>[He's charming.]  
>x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x<p>

Saki raised an eyebrow, not fully believing her. "You…think he's charming? Well, if that's your type, I guess. There isn't any need to be modest with how you feel."

"C'mon, senpai, there's no need to have this kind of conversation right now!" Yosuke insisted, a blush creeping onto his face.

"You're right, I was just kidding." Saki shook her head. "Anyway, I have to get back to work now…" She looked back to the protagonist. "I'd like to talk to you again actually. Well, we'll find time, won't we? I have to get back to work now. Talk to you later."

Yosuke didn't seem ready for her to leave, but the girl promptly took her leave.  
>It wasn't difficult to sense the tension here as Yosuke sat back down at the table.<br>Chie sighed and attempted to heighten his spirits.

"Well, Yosuke, if you're having a hard time with girls, there _is _the Midnight Channel…"

The meeting with Saki Konishi had gone awry on the walk home.  
>The girl had been grateful to the protagonist for agreeing to take Yosuke off of her hands, despite her bewilderment at how anyone could find him attractive in the least, although coming across a dead body atop antenna had soiled any remnants of a friendly mood.<br>It was hard for her to think too greatly of a girl who had staked her out in the girl's bathroom just to arrange a discreet meeting with her.  
>But she found out that night that there was more to Saki than a pessimist working at the store running her family into probably bankruptcy.<br>She still held human emotion, crying and getting sick at the sight of the dangling corpse before them and confiding in her during the hours they were stuck at the police station for questioning.  
>In fact, she felt closer to the girl now, and felt a pang of guilt for judging her so harshly.<p>

The protagonist didn't get to watch the midnight channel that night, and was absent the next day at school due to the chaos of the night prior.  
>Dojima, seeing that Saki wasn't in the best of mindsets, tasked his niece with undergoing an interview regarding the incident that would be aired on television the next day.<br>Apparently all of Inaba was buzzing with interest in the girls who had found the body, though their identities had remained discreet and she was promised anonymity during her news debut.

When she made it back to school the day her interview was to be aired on TV, she brushed off her absence as having to help out Dojima with how busy things had become at the station since the murder. That was a decent excuse, right?  
>She didn't want to be bombarded with questions regarding the incident.<p>

Despite that she hadn't said much for the remainder of the school day, exhausted and wary from not even her first week in Inaba, Yosuke's concern for her didn't falter.

He really was her first friend here, and she was grateful for his offer to take her out again when he noticed her sullen mood. But she'd declined, in a hurry to get home and try to sleep everything away.

He and Chie filled her in to what they'd witnessed on the Midnight Channel—there was the silhouette of a woman, and now Chie thought that this entire setup must have been an elaborate prank by someone at the local television station.

"Well, we can't know for sure until we try again," Yosuke reasoned.

"Yeah, tonight, all three of us tune in." Chie nodded her head.

So much for sleeping.

The protagonist agreed, and ten minutes before midnight, Yosuke dialed her phone.

"Hey, it's almost midnight. You gonna tune in? Could be important."

He said nothing about the interview that had aired on television earlier, which meant that either he was too dense to recognize her obvious outline, or he was simply being respectful of the subject and not bringing it up.

Either way, she would rather talk about urban legends than murders.

Her classmate stayed on the line until the midnight channel began its broadcast. A silhouette began forming in the snowy static of the television, a figure darkening in a deep gray that grew only slightly crisper when she unfocused her eyes. It looked familiar.

"Oh hey, if this is my soulmate, then…"

Was he joking? Her thoughts trailed away.

This was clearly her. Just as she'd been filmed during the interviews. She fought the temptation to reach her hand into the television again, just to assure herself that the last time hadn't been a dream. A warning bell rang in her head, though, and she briefly recalled fairy tales about doppelgangers and how they were a sign of imminent death.

Was she going to be the next victim?

"Hey, are you still there?" Yosuke grabbed her attention; she'd actually almost forgotten that she was even using the phone.

She took a breath, reach forward, and powered off the television. Thankfully nothing reach out for her. But she could feel a certain calling within it.  
>Something was wanting her on...the other side?<br>She didn't understand.

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>PLAYER CHOICE<p>

That was me!  
>Did you recognize them?<br>[I'm going to die!]  
>x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x<p>

"Whoa, whoa, whoa—that is _not_ going to happen," Yosuke assured her. "I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you, alright? I'll protect you. Just take a deep breath and explain to me what happened…"


	2. Chapter 2

She was used to boys making her promises and breaking them when it was convenient or when she was no longer needed for their own purposes, but Yosuke hadn't faltered from his vow the other night to protect her, or strayed from his word when she shared her nightmares with him the next day at school.

"_If there is some kind of world on the other side of the TV, we'll search it high and low until we find the reason your face appeared on the Midnight Channel. And if someone is pulling a prank, we'll make them pay! I've got your back."_

In a way, she was glad that Yosuke was taking the TV world's existence so well. It made this entire misadventure easier.

Chie had partially accompanied them on this venture to Junes to enter the other side a second time, but decided to wait back in the electronics department by the television they were using as a portal.  
>The protagonist and Yosuke had originally tied rope around their waists as a safety precaution, just in case their friend had to needed to pull them back out (neither had any doubts about her strength to do so), but once they'd reach a reach a certain point, untying themselves was the only way to continue into the thick, ominous fog.<p>

The bear they met was suspicious in his existence in the TV world alone at first, but there wasn't an ounce of ill will radiating from Teddie's fluffy body-unlike the monsters that crawled and floated through the twists and turns of this maze that resembled the corporate department store.  
>And he was the only one who could see through the fog without glasses (he'd been nice enough to make each of his new friends a pair) and analyze enemies for type weaknesses, which became a life or death game of strategy here.<br>Yosuke was familiar with some of the layout, given that it wasn't too different than the real Junes, but beating these monsters with a golf club and sword was taking a toll on them.  
>She wondered if she was really this out of shape.<p>

Yosuke looked tired, too—but that was his own fault for overdoing it, spinning in the air to slice at the shadows and showing off.  
>He was obviously trying to look cool in front of her. It was endearing.<br>Kind of.

It had been unnerving to see her own face behind the static of the Midnight Channel. If her assumption of murder victims being tied to the urban legend was true, then seeing a doppelganger like that could have been an omen of her own impending demise.

She'd seen the body of Mayumi Yamano, and preferred to not have her own guts pierced through a metal pole like a human satay.  
>As much as she tried not to think about that night, it kept scratching itself into the back of her mind when a shadow would strike a weak point and knock the breath out of her.<p>

It seemed like they had been fighting for hours before they decided to take a break in the frozen food isle as a means to restore some of their energy and allow Teddie time to catch up to them from wherever he was providing their support. Somehow, they were operational and sliding the device open provided a cold air of relief before they were hit with the smell of dead mice. Or dead _something_.

"Gross!" Yosuke slammed the door shut. "So much for cooling off. We really worked up a sweat, didn't we?"

The protagonist nodded, taking a seat on a decaying bench, careful to balance her weight so that it wouldn't crumble under her. That effort was put to waste when Yosuke sat next to her with a sigh and not an ounce of resistance, causing the frail structure to give out and sending both of them to the floor flat onto their rears. The sound of wood snapping echoed.

"I'm sorry!" Yosuke immediately apologized and shot back up to his feet, offering the protagonist his hand and helping her back to her feet..

She dusted off the back of her skirt (what was that horrid green goo making the tiled floor so slippery? Probably best to not know) and told him not to worry about it.

Yosuke still look embarrassed, rubbing at his neck and glancing away. "I guess I'm just frustrated with looking around in here is all. I'm glad that this isn't actually Junes. My dad would kill me."

She laughed at that, and he gave a hesitant smile as if he'd just wiped away their plummet.

A gargled, deep laughter that was pressed behind an exact duplicate of Yosuke's voice shattered their lighter moment. "Well, look at you, trying to act all cool and funny!"

At the edge of the isle, arms crossed, learning leisurely against the freezer glass was…Yosuke? The protagonist blinked at the sight, then turned to the Yosuke next to her.  
>No. There was only one Yosuke. The world couldn't handle two of them, right? Well, maybe <em>this<em> world could…

"What the hell?" The original took a step back as they stared at the doppelganger in alarm.

The other Yosuke sneered. "Laaaame! Just like your pathetic attempts at making it look like you care for the new girl as an excuse to come here!"  
>This Yosuke was surrounded by a dark, menacing aura that chilled the air around them, and his eyes were a maize yellow that squinted with sadistic satisfaction at the real Yosuke's dumbfounded expression. "But I guess all that bullshit about 'I'll protect you!' might land you a steady substitute for Saki-senpai, right? After all, <em>she's<em> never going to like actually like you. And the new girl hasn't been around long enough to join in with all the other cunts at school who like to make fun of you! Maybe if you make her feel sorry for you, she'll feel too guilty to ever be honest with you once she realizes how much of a loser you are!"

"Shut up!" Yosuke approached the other in anger, fists clenched at his sides. "I don't think that! I don't know what you're talking about! Who are you?! _What_ are you?!"

Teddie approached the scene in a hurry with widened eyes, mimicking the protagonist's double take. "Two Yosukes?" He could sense something was out of place here.

The monster wearing the Yosuke's skin cackled, clutching his sides. "You idiot! I'm _you_! I'm your shadow. I know everything about you! Like how this is the most exciting thing that's happened to you since your father forced you to move out here to the sticks! Trying to play hero for the girl was a perfect excuse to come snooping around down here, too! Seems like you've caught quiet a stroke of luck over the past few days, huh?

"That's all you want, isn't it? Some excitement! You're so bored here. You hate it. You hate Inaba, you hate your parents for dragging you out to this hick town, and you hate how your heart is racing right this second! Trying to deny to even yourself that everything I've said just now is true! You're so pathetic…even I want to feel sorry for you, and I am you."

"I said to shut up!" Yosuke was fuming now. "You're _not_ me—you're _nothing_ like me, you son of a bitch! Be quiet, already!"

The other Yosuke grinned at him. "I'm not, huh? Say it again! Louder this time!"

"I don't know who you are! You're _not_ me!"

The protagonist and Teddie were only mere spectators to what happened next—the fake Yosuke erupted into laughter strong enough to crack the freezer doors and stepped back from them, palm to his forehead, the blackness radiating from his body thickening with the fog.  
>"That's right!" The shadow screeched joyfully, unfolding his arms as the energy surrounding him began to engulf his form. "I'm <em>not<em> you anymore! I'm me now! I don't need you anymore!"

As if the creature had drained the life of the real Yosuke, he fell to the ground unconscious as the monster's silhouette expanded and exploded into a more massive shadow in the shape of a scarved figure atop a marble eyed frog.  
>Teddie looked to Yosuke in a panic as the protagonist apprehensively watched the camouflage patterned amphibian slam itself at the floor in a fury, locking eyes with her. "I'll crush everything that bores me! Starting with you!"<p>

The protagonist readied herself, gripping the golf club in her hand and looking to Yosuke's fallen body. Teddie stood protectively over him. "Senpai, you can beat it! I have faith in you!"

She nodded and approached the shadow, Izanami at the ready of her psyche to be called forth and vanquish this manifestation of Yosuke's inner turmoil.

When it was over, the protagonist found her body and mind aching from the strain of destroying a shadow so powerful and laced with malice. If she hadn't held a type advantage over it, knocking the frog onto its back with every jolt of lightning her Persona hurled at it, she very well could have been overpowered.  
>She'd been lucky this time.<p>

"Dammit…I…I…"  
>The creature fell, cursing its defeat, and evaporated into black specs that flurried through the cold air as its appearance reverted back to that of its host.<p>

It wasn't going to cause anymore trouble, was it?

The protagonist turned her attention back to Yosuke, who jolted awake almost instantaneously.

"Yosuke, are you alright?" Teddie asked softly when he came to.

"What…happened?" He rubbed the back of his head, standing to his feet and looking around the trashed store. Had he been hoping that his shadow was nothing but a bad dream?

Regardless, he was slammed back into reality at the sight of his doppelganger staring at him with a softened, almost sad expression now.

"You!" He hissed weakly. "You're…not me…"

Teddie looked to him. "Yosuke, that thing came from you."  
>If anyone knew that, it would be Teddie. Everything in this world synced with the bear.<p>

"If you don't accept it, it'll just go berserk again."

Yosuke hesitated, looking to Teddie, then to the protagonist, and regretfully back to his shadow. He sighed heavily, embarrassment and shame weighing into his chest. He turned away from it.

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>PLAYER CHOICE<p>

[You're still yourself]  
>You can do this<br>We all hide things  
>x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x<p>

"Still myself, huh?" Yosuke echoed with a heavy sigh, crossing his arms and moving to confront the shadow. "I guess you're right. I'm still me, even if facing myself hurts. And damn, does it hurt."

He stood in front of his own image, swallowing his pride with visible trepidation. "I'm really ashamed of some of my thoughts, so I didn't want to admit that it was right. I'm unhappy than I like to let on. What few friends I have wouldn't like me if they knew the truth."  
>His voice trembled. "You're me…and I'm you. You're everything about me that hurts. All of this is me. And you hurt because I denied you. I'm sorry."<p>

_The strength of the heart to face oneself has been made manifest…_

The shadow dissolved again, this time dissipating into a calming blue mist that flashed the image of a scarfed, shuriken wielding figure before a card spun before Yosuke and shattered.  
>A certain peace at coming to terms with himself soothed his mind.<p>

_Yosuke faced himself…_

_Yosuke has obtained the façade used to overcome life's hardships, the Persona Jiraiya_

"This…is my Persona." He turned back to the protagonist and Teddie, giving her an apologetic frown. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…I never meant to think of you that way. The truth is, I know that Saki-senpai finds me annoying, and that she'll never actually like me. Not even as a friend. She's just nice to me to my face. But I really don't care about that. I just want to see her smile and to make her happy. It's stupid, I know. The truth is, I really like you, too—not like that, I mean—but I'd like to see your smile, too. One day."

Yosuke's face turned a little red and he shyly averted his eyes from her. "You're the only girl who's been my friend that hasn't been using me to get a job at Junes or to fulfill some kind of dare, and that means a lot to me. So…please, let me make all of this up to you. I swear I will, no matter how long it takes."

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>PLAYER CHOICE<p>

You don't have to  
>[You already make me laugh]<br>You're an asshole  
>x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x<p>

"Well, I'm glad I'm good for something…" He gave her a tired smile, looking touched at her lack of resentment towards him. He really was ready to receive any punishment he expected her to throw at him, feeling full well that he deserved to be scolded like a child.

Was he blushing? "And, I really am worried about why you appeared on the Midnight Channel. Sure, it is exciting here, but it's dangerous, too, and if I lost someone to this world, I don't think I could ever live with myself. All of this is really embarrassing…geez…"

The protagonist could feel a faint bond forming between her and Yosuke—but in their mutual fatigue, they were too tired to establish that right now.

"I don't hear anymore voices," Teddie pointed out in the silence that followed. "You both look exhausted. It isn't comfortable here for you, because this world isn't made for humans. I think we're done here. You should go back home."

"Yeah, I've had enough for today. How about you?"

The protagonist nodded, yawning into her hand with half lidded eyes. That battle had taken more out of her than any shadow before it, although she was sure that this had been more draining for Yosuke than herself.

"Come on, let's go." He piped up in an attempt to resurrect his usual, chipper attitude. "I'll give you a ride on the back of my bike, if you want."  
>She nervously weighed whether or not the risk of him crashing the machine would be worth not having to walk.<p>

_Today, the protagonist learned more about the world behind the television…_

_She returned home and rested._


End file.
